Arbiter of free speech?
Yesterday, it was reported that Elon Musk will be buying Twitter for approximately $44 billion, and taking the company private. While Musk claims to value “free speech,” Democrats in particular are worried that Musk’s takeover of Twitter will mean the unbanning and unleashing of right wing violent hate speech. First and foremost on the minds of many such Democrats is the potential reinstatement of Donald Trump, who was permanently suspended from Twitter in January 2020 “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” after Trump inspired, and allegedly instigated, the January 6, 2021 right wing terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol. Of course, nothing is permanent when Twitter is about to change hands. And speaking of hands, Elon Musk has tipped his repeatedly by using Republican code words, such as saying that “woke mind virus” and “wokeness” are threats to civilization.
Donald Trump claims that he will continue to stay off of Twitter, in favor of his “Truth Social“ platform. However, Truth Social has been an abject failure, and access to the many millions of Twitter users would be a temptation for any public figure, even one who wasn’t already a congenital liar like Trump.
Accordingly, Democrats are wondering what to do. Some of them apparently have already left or have threatened to leave the Twitter platform:
https://twitter.com/GovHowardDean/status/1518607943255703552
Yup. Lots of Dems misguidedly deactivating.
— That Well-Adjusted Biden Guy (@What46HasDone) April 25, 2022
https://twitter.com/RikHavic/status/1518708447688146944
Some Twitter users are concerned that Musk would start charging a fee to use the platform, which of course would be an ironic definition of “free speech.” Other users took note of Musk’s wealth, and wondered whether it could be put to better use. For example:
Elon Musk told the United Nations he would give them $6 billion to end world hunger if they showed him a detailed plan of how they would use the money. They called his bluff and gave him their plan— and then they never got the money. Now he’s buying Twitter for $45 billion.
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) April 25, 2022
pro tip: if you can afford to buy your own social media playpen, you can afford to stop whining about having to pay taxes
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) April 25, 2022
Still others are more philosophical:
BREAKING: Twitter
(Breathe, folks – it’s gonna be ok)
— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) April 25, 2022
Perhaps actor and gay/liberal activist George Takei summed up the inevitable conclusion for many Democrats:
I’m not going anywhere. Should this place become more toxic, I pledge to strive even harder to lift up reason, science, compassion and the rule of law. The struggle against fascism, misinformation, and hate requires tough fighters. I hope you stay in the fight, right beside me.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 25, 2022
To continue the possible Democratic activist/Sci-Fi actor connection, Mark Hamill made a similar comment:
No matter who owns it, no matter who's on it, I'm staying to engage with you, listen to diverse opinions & to keep fighting the good fight!
(also, to keep posting the inane tweets I'm known for)#TwitterTenacity— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) April 25, 2022
Many Twitter users will likely wait and see what, if anything, Elon Musk does to the platform, and hope that he doesn’t ruin what has become a very important means of communication.
Photo by Automobile Italia, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/XaRoqs
